Britney Ballistic Over Billboards

JUNE 17--Britney Spears is threatening legal action against a Florida radio station that used a bald-headed photo of the pop star on billboards that appear to call her sanity into question. In a June 14 letter to Clear Channel Communications lawyer Donna Schneider, Spears's counsel claims that the billboards promoting the MJ Morning Show were "outrageous to the extreme" and demanded their removal. A copy of the Spears legal letter can be found below. The three outdoor advertisements, which are reproduced at right, pair a paparazzi photo of a bald, snarling Spears with a picture of WFLZ morning show host Todd Schnitt (who uses the air name MJ Kelli). They are headlined, "Total Nut Jobs," "Shock Therapy," and "Certifiable." According to the star's lawyer, Spears's "likeness has a multi-million-dollar value for authorized commercial exploitations" and, as a result, she is entitled to "very substantial damages" from Clear Channel. The MJ Morning Show airs on several stations across Florida. The Spears billboards, which first appeared in April, advertised the program in Tampa, Jacksonville, and Clearwater. (2 pages)